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Sistrunk: Entrapment is affirmative defense to felon in possession charge

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Sistrunk, No. 09-12798 (Oct. 7, 2010), the Court affirmed a conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.Citing U.S. v. Deleveaux, the Court recognized that, like the defense of justification, the defense of entrapment can be raised in a felon-in-possession case, as an affirmative defense, to negate criminal liability even though the prosecution has proven all the elements of the offense. The district court therefore erred in ruling that this defense was not available to Sistrunk. However, the error in failing to give the instruction was harmless because the facts did not warrant the instruction: the government merely presented Sistrunk with an ?attractive? opportunity to rob a stash house, but did not engage in ?excessive pressure or manipulation...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on October 08, 2010 (boomark / email).